October 30, 2006

BOO AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It's been a couple of weeks since I last reported on the team and the season but don't despair, things have been going well. It's just been really busy for all of us involved in URI soccer between games, training and hosting possible future Rams visiting campus the past couple of weekends. So, let's bring you all up to speed...

Over the time since I last wrote, we have been head first into the end of the Atlantic 10 season and preparations for the A-10 Tournament. We've had a terrific run at home since our split weekend at Xavier/Dayton and its' put us in a great position to make another run at the Atlantic 10 Tournament title.

Over the weekend of October 13-15, Temple and Saint Joseph's came to town, and in both games it proved why you can't look past any opponent in the league. On Friday we sandwiched an early own goal with a Dawid Badecki (Jelenia Gora, Poland) finish in the 72nd minute to beat the Owls. It was a really nifty goal as Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland) lifted a pass over Temple's defense that Badecki took down and calmly deposited in the goal.

On Sunday, St. Joe's scored first but our guys responded with 6 unanswered goals to down the Hawks, 6-1. This was a great team effort as 9 different players contributed to the scoring with Jeff Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario) leading the way with two goals and an assist.

Midweek, we had the second of our Rhode Island Darby's with Brown University coming to campus for a re-match of the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, which the Bears won, 2-1. It was an old-fashioned shoot-out and all out entertaining game which ended in a 3-3 draw. We started the game well and got a goal from Lukasz Tumicz only to see Brown equalize. After Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) put the Rams ahead again, the Ivy Leaguers tallied twice in a two-minute span which threw us for a loop. But old reliable Jeff Gonsalves came through to tie the game and that is how it ended. Exciting and well worth the price of admission.

It was also a special night as Danleigh tallied his first goal of the season in front of his mother who had surprised "her baby" a few days earlier. Only the coaching staff knew she was making the 18 hour flight from Cape Town and you should have seen his face and heard him say "Mummy?!" when she came out from behind Keaney during our warm down after training... It was priceless! The hug will last a lifetime...

The University of Massachusetts came to town the next weekend and it took overtime (our seventh OT of the season) to beat the Minutemen. The first half was not a good one for us as we started slow and seemed to be a little out of sorts with Adam Howarth (Isle of Wight, England) missing due to an ankle injury he sustained against Brown.

UMass scored first on a counter attack but we were able to get in the locker room at half-time tied when Dawid Badecki scored on a free kick in the 32nd minute. A missed penalty kick in the second half enabled Massachusetts to stay in the game but Lukasz Tumicz continued his hot scoring streak finishing a Jeff Gonsalves pass just 5 minutes into the extra stanza.

Now things come full circle as we were set up for a furious finish and a chance to win the Atlantic 10 regular season title but in the way were Duquesne and league-leading St. Louis University.

The Duquesne match turned into something we did not expect, that of a 4-0 shut out and a bizarre side show. In the middle of the second half the match was interrupted by a pitbull that ran onto the field through the gate by the practice football field and proceeded to attack another dog by the stands.

Now I've seen some weird things happen during a game but this tops them all! Especially since it was Kevin Hamill's family's dog that was attacked! We are glad to report that KH's dog (a fluffy little thing that managed to bite a chunk out of the pitbull) is ok. The pitbull made its way back onto the field and most of the guys scampered around trying to stay out of its way until Dawid Badecki bravely escorted it off the field by its collar... only to see it make a mad dash across the field a couple of minutes later.

Anyway, it was one of those games were things just seemed to be clicking for our guys and after two first-half goals by Geoff Cameron (Attleboro, MA), and one sandwiched in between from Jeff Gonsalves, we seemed to put the game out of reach.

Kevin Hamill (Easton, CT) scored his first collegiate goal (a BLAST into the side netting from 25 yards... on an angle by the way!) to seal the deal leaving the boys a chance to win the regular season A-10 title with a win over SLU on Sunday.

GO RAMS!

October 13, 2006

It was a weekend of highs and lows which to be honest, is often how the game of soccer goes. We entered the weekend with a chance to get two more Atlantic 10 conference wins and a great set up for the stretch run on the season. We came away with some mixed feelings but confident we are in a great position to do something special with the season.

On Friday we faced Xavier University, which was 1-0 in the conference after defeating local rival Dayton the weekend before. The team started out well, stringing some passes together and combining well in the final third to create some chances. Xavier withstood some early pressure and the game became a battle of the midfield.

Unfortunately, about 20 minutes into the match Geoff Cameron (Attleboro, Mass.) had to come out of the game because of the ill effects of a back injury he sustained the weekend before versus George Washington. With this change in the lineup, Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) was moved to the middle which helped to change the tempo of the match and lend a different dynamic to the position. Coming towards the end of the half an XU player found himself behind the Ram defense off a throw-in from 30 yards out and crossed the ball to an open teammate for a 1-0 score. Our guy's were not happy.

The second half began with a flurry as the Rhody boys pressed to find the equalizer. They worked hard and maintained a solid defense but time became a premium. At the suggestion of Assistant Coach Pat Laughlin, central defender Adam Howarth (Isle of White, England) moved up front to provide a "huge" target and the move paid off.

Howarth was played a ball about 30 yards out, playing it over his head to a streaking Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland) who crossed the ball to an on rushing Jeff Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario) who deposited into the goal for the equalizer. The momentum was with the Rams and if there had been five extra minutes added to regulation, I truly believe we could have won it then.

But overtime was it. And in the extra stanza, it took a great cross by Xavier to beat the Rhody defense and we ended the game on a disappointing note.

On Sunday, we awoke to a beautiful morning which proved to be an ominous foreshadow to the day. From the opening to final whistle, the guys were brimming with confidence. They knew it would be their day and Jeff Gonsalves made sure it would happen with two goals on assists from Callum Bissett's (Pencaitland, Scotland) redirected header off a Dawid Badecki (Jalenia Gora, Poland) free kick and a thru pass from Kevin Hamill (Easton, CT) who collected his first assist of the year.

When Jeff scored his second goal, he ran right to Assistant Coach Gareth Elliot to celebrate because not only was it Coach Elliott's birthday, with the goal, Jeff had passed Gareth on URI's all-time scoring list.

Dayton put on a valiant onslaught of driven balls into the Rhody defensive third but freshmen goalie Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England) held things together and earned his second shutout of the season. It was an acceptable end to the weekend as we all realized that it's hard to win on the road and with the victory over Dayton, we were still in the hunt for the A-10 title.

This upcoming weekend is an important one as it pits us against two other Atlantic 10 foes as well as being Homecoming. Top that with of our recruits being on campus and you have pretty busy weekend. We hope you all can join us for one, if not both, of our games which are at 7:00 pm on Friday night versus Temple University* and Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm versus St. Joseph's University.

*NOTE: Prior to the match, the Westerly High School Girls will take on the 2005 RI State Champion Prout School Girls with play at 4:00 pm. Prout is coached by former URI player Kevin Kennedy. All proceeds from the game will go to benefit the Katie Decubellis Scholarship Foundation.

October 3, 2006

It's been a fabulous week and just what the doctor ordered! It's hard to believe that we are at the midpoint of the season already, but I'm happy to report that the team is starting to hit its stride and the pieces are coming together. The beginning of our season was productive but frustrating as we were a team playing an attractive brand of soccer but just not getting the results we wanted. However, the tides have now changed and the team is brimming with confidence heading into the second A-10 conference weekend.

Last week began with a mid-week test versus Ivy League foe Harvard University on a beautiful Tuesday night. The atmosphere was electrifying with the Rams returning home for the first time since September 3rd. This, combined with "Soccer Rhode Island Night" at the URI Soccer Complex, had the stands jammed with youth players from around the Ocean State. Some were even recognized at half-time for their 2006 State Championship performances and appearances in the Regional Championships in Virginia Beach, Va. this past summer. Add in some give-a-ways (generously provided by US Youth Soccer and Soccer Rhode Island) and you've created quite an event! Our thank yous go out to Phyllis and Larry Fish as well as our own director of promotions, Kate Moore, for pulling things together for us.

The game itself was a very entertaining one as Harvard came into the match with quite a pedigree. We had seen them play while we were at their Harvard Invitational as well as when they participated in our own Sheraton/URI Soccer Classic so we knew they were very explosive and talented, especially up front. We got a great start and put pressure on the Crimson immediately, nearly getting a couple of goals within the first 10 minutes.

The game settled down and both teams exchanged blows until Dawid Badecki (Jelenia Gora, Poland) rifled a shot from 25 yards out which the Harvard goalkeeper could not handle. Kedan Crosby (St. James, Trinidad) was "Johnny on the Spot" and finished the rebound for his first goal of the year and a 1-0 half-time lead. The Rams where excited and came out blazing again in the second half. Just 15 minutes in, midfielder Geoff Cameron (Attleboro, Mass.) connected with forward Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland) streaking down the left side. Tumicz took a touch inside the box and finished under the onrushing HU keeper.

Harvard scored on a broken play with about 10 minutes to go but our defense, backed by a couple of good saves by senior goalkeeper Mark Sauter (Columbus, Ohio), held strong for this important win. The victory alleviated a lot of the players' concerns and brought them the positive energy needed going into the opening Atlantic 10 weekend.

After a short break and a trip to the "City of Brotherly Love", a game with La Salle University was next for the Rams and the boy's were chomping at the bit to get back on the field. Friday night couldn't have come any sooner, but we filled the day with a walk through at La Salle in the morning and study hall in the afternoon. All throughout the day you could just tell in the eyes of our players that this would be URI's night.

If you missed the first half you would have missed quite the performance by senior forward Gonslaves, who scored a natural hat trick on assists from Tumicz (2), Cameron and outside back Kevin Algozer (Northport, N.Y.), who made a brilliant run down the left side and got into the box. The Explorers got on the board with a goal to make it 3-1 but that only made our lads more determined to put their stamp on the game.

Second-half goals by Steve Mellen (N. Kingston, RI), Badecki and Crosby sealed the deal. The last of the goals saw Crosby tally a clever goal after the LU goalkeeper dropped a ball, "Trini" flicked the ball over his head and tapped it in on the other side... It was a bit of magic which the team delighted in celebrating. Everyone on the trip got some playing time that night, including "Danger" Dan Lucas (N. Providence, RI) who nearly created a seventh goal for Rhody.

On Saturday, the squad travelled to Washington, D.C. in preparation for the final match of the weekend against George Washington University. It was a nice trip down to the nation's capital with our bus driver "Double D", who couldn't have been more accommodating to the boys and our staff. That's always a nice luxury to have as it keeps everyone loose and able to relax and prepare.

Morning came, the sun was out and it couldn't have been a better end to the weekend. The boys came put and picked up where they left off on Friday night, dominating GW from the start. Gonsalves continued his torrid scoring streak, kneeing a ball which was headed back across the net by Mellen off a Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) cross.

In the second half, the Polish connection hooked up when Tumicz found Badecki for a volley from 8 yards out to pad the lead, 2-0. Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England) handled every shot and cross with ease, earning the first shut out of his career.

We headed home with a great start to the A-10 season and the assuredness that we could do whatever we put our minds to in the game. It will be a short week for us as we are off to Ohio on Thursday for games against Xavier and Dayton... another great test and opportunity for our guys.

After this weekend, we return home for the remainder of the season including Homecoming Weekend October 13-15. If you are in the area come on by and see what the team is up to this year!

GO RAMS!